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bas mitzvah

 - 6 dictionary results

bas mitz⋅vah

[Ashk. Heb., Eng. bahs mits-vuh]
–noun (often initial capital letters) Judaism.
bat mitzvah.

bat mitz⋅vah

[baht mits-vuh, bahs; Seph. Heb. baht meets-vah; Ashk. Heb. bahs mits-vuh] Judaism.
–noun (often initial capital letters)
1. a solemn ceremony, chiefly among Reform and Conservative Jews, that is held in the synagogue on Friday night or Saturday morning to admit formally as an adult member of the Jewish community a girl 12 to 13 years old.
2. the girl participating in this ceremony.
–verb (used with object)
3. to administer the ceremony of bat mitzvah to.
Compare bar mitzvah.


Origin:
< Heb bath miṣwāh lit., daughter of the divine law
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bas mitzvah
bas mitz·vah or bas miz·vah   (bäs mĭts'və)   
n.   & v.
Variants of bat mitzvah.
bat mitz·vah or bat miz·vah   (bät mĭts'və)   
n.  
  1. In Conservative and Reform Judaism, a Jewish girl of 12 or 13 years of age, considered an adult and responsible for her moral and religious duties.

  2. The ceremony that initiates and recognizes a girl as a bat mitzvah.

tr.v.   bat mitz·vahed or bat miz·vahed or bas mitz·vahed or bas miz·vahed, bat mitz·vah·ing or bat miz·vah·ing or bas mitz·vah·ing or bas miz·vah·ing, bat mitz·vahs or bat miz·vahs or bas mitz·vahs or bas miz·vahs
To confirm in the ceremony of bat mitzvah.

[Hebrew bat miṣwâ : bat, daughter; see bn in Semitic roots + miṣwâ, commandment; see mitzvah.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

bat mitzvah [(baht, bahs mits-vuh)]

An important ceremony and social event in Judaism marking the beginning of religious responsibility for Jewish girls; it is the less frequently observed counterpart of the bar mitzvah. Bat mitzvah is Hebrew for “daughter of the commandment.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

Bat Mitzvah 
1950, lit. "daughter of command;" a Jewish girl who has reached age 12, the age of religious majority. Extended to the ceremony held on occasion of this.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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